Diabetes in the elderly population.

One in 10 elderly people in the US has diabetes, and as the number of elderly people increases, so will the number of people with diabetes. Patient participation is crucial to successful management of diabetes; however, elderly patients often have functional deficits that interfere with their ability to perform monitoring tasks. Elderly people require comprehensive assessment and careful follow-up to prevent serious, acute complications such as hyperosmolarity and hyperglycemia. Short-acting oral hypoglycemics are recommended to reduce the risk of hypoglycemia in elderly patients.